Portions of this thread copied from a Starship Dev thread on r/SpaceX.
FAQ
- When next launch? (IFT-5) Booster catch NET late July, per Elon.
- When previous launch? (IFT-4)? Booster 11 and Ship 29 launched on 2024-06-06.
- What was the result? Both booster and ship make it to landing burn and splashdown. Ship flaps took a beating on reentry, but remained in control of the vehicle.
Quick Links
RAPTOR ROOST | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE
IFT-4 launch thread | Starship Dev 55 | IFT-3 launch thread | Starship Dev 54 | Starship Dev 53 | Starship Dev 52 | Starship Dev 51
Official SpaceX Starship Update Video (2024-04-06)
Status
Road Closures - @bocaroad Mastodon bot
| Type | Start (CDT) | End (CDT) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Date | 2024-07-09 08:00 | 2024-07-09 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-10 08:00 | 2024-07-10 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Backup Date | 2024-07-11 08:00 | 2024-07-11 20:00 | Possible Closure. |
| Primary Day | 2024-07-10 12:00 | 2024-07-11 00:00 | “Clossure” Scheduled. |
| Alternative Day | 2024-07-11 12:00 | 2024-07-12 00:00 | Possible “Clossure”. |
| Alternative Day | 2024-07-12 08:00 | 2024-07-12 20:00 | Possible “Clossure”. |
Up to date as of 2024-07-11
Vehicle Status
As of 2024-06-29
Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.
| Ship | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| S26 | Rocket Garden | Resting | Static fire Oct. 20. No fins or heat shield, multiple mysterious changes. Completed 3 cryo tests, latest on Oct 10. Rolls to Massey’s May 8th, cryo test May 24th, static fired Jun 3rd, rolls to rocket garden Jun 12th. |
| S29 | Indian Ocean | Successful launch and soft water landing | Spin prime Mar 11th, Static fire Mar 25th (6 engines) and 27th (1 engine), partial WDR May 16th, full WDR May 20th, full WDR May 28th, FTS installed May 30th, stacked on Jun 1st, launched on IFT-4 Jun 6th. |
| S30 | Highbay | Undergoing heatshield upgrade | 2x cryo: Jan 3rd and Jan 5th. Engines installed ~Apr 9th. Static fired May 8th. |
| S31 | Megabay 2 | Pending engine install | Cryo tested May 12th, suffers small electrical fire. Underwent repairs in the Highbay, rolls back to Massey’s Jul 1. Cryo tested Jul 2nd and 3rd. |
| S32 | Rocket Garden | Resting | Fully stacked, fore flaps installed but not aft flaps |
| S33-35 | Abandoned | Parts spotted, likely to be scrapped in preparation for Starship v2 | |
| S36-37 | Build Site | Parts spotted | Starship v2 forward flap spotted |
| Booster | Location | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| B11 | Gulf of Mexico | Successful launch and soft water landing | Completed 2 Cryo tests. Static fired Apr 5th, hot stage ring installed ~May 3rd, partial WDR May 16th, full WDR May 20th, full WDR May 28th, FTS installed May 30th, launched IFT-4 on Jun 6th. |
| B12 | Pad A | Pending static fire | Cryo x2 |
| B13 | Megabay 1 | Testing | Cryo tests Apr 26th (methane tank) and Apr 29th (LOX tank) |
| B14 | Megabay 1 | Pending cryo | Stacked Apr 26th |
| B14.1 | Sanchez | Resting | Multiple catch simulation “slap tests” performed on Jun 26th and 27th. |
| B15 | Build Site | Assembly | Potential aft end, common dome section, aft tank section, and forward dome spotted. |
| B16 | Build Site | Assembly | Parts spotted |
| B17 | Build Site | Assembly | Parts spotted |
Resources
- LabPadre Channel | NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
- NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
- NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
- NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent
- SpaceX: Website Starship page | Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
- FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
- FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
- FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
- NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
- Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
- Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
- Raptor 2 Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
- Acronym definitions by Decronym
- Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
- Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine
- Old orbital tank farm map | Source.
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Starbase activities (2024-06-06):
- Jun 5th addendum: R-vac which arrived at Highbay leaves. An R-vac is removed from S30.
- Overnight, cars to the pad.
- Mary evacuates, OLM and tower venting (ViX, NSF), frost on ship (ViX, NSF), engine chill,
- IFT-4 happens :)
- Jun 7th and 8th road closures are revoked. No surprises there.
- Road delay for booster transport to Massey’s is posted for Jun 8th 00:00 to 03:00.
- Post-launch photos of the pad from Starship Gazer and Jack Beyer.
IFT-4:
- Liftoff, hot staging, hot stage ring jettison, booster splashdown (landing coordinates), ship coast phase, reentry and partial flap disintegration, ship splashdown is confirmed.
- Chopsticks slowly close shortly after booster splashdown.
- Clear shot of disintegrated flap hinge. (annotated)
- Flap hinge was an anticipated weak point, and will be addressed on newer ships by shifting the flaps leeward.
- A WB57 was near the booster landing location, and a Dassault Falcon 900EX was near the ship landing location. RGV Aerial performed a flyover in the afternoon, likely to the booster landing location. Hopefully these planes got some good footage.
KSC:
- Barge which is carrying the chopsticks and remaining tower segments departs, but hasn’t gone far yet.
Other:
- SpaceX confirms that the missing heatshield tiles are intentional experiments.
- ViX tally of recent cryo deliveries to the Starbase orbital tank farm.
- Current orbital tank farm will supply both launch pads.
- Booster catch on IFT-5 is a possibility, per Elon.
I need to get some sleep, and you probably should too :)